Tiny Wonders
by TurtleStripes
Summary: Arizona and Timothy find their way in life, slowly struggling since their parent's divorce. Eventually leading to them to start their own adventure and met the ladies that will change their minds about love and forever. Arizona/Callie Tim/Teddy. Very, very AU.
1. The Robbins Divide

**So, I'm entirely sure where I'm going with this update-wise, because I already have a lot of other stuff going on, but I liked the idea and know what way I want it to go. My line of thinking was basically that everything would have been a lot different for Arizona and Tim if their parents had of split because it seems to play an especially huge part of who they are/were, and not many people seem to stick together these days. It's only the Robbins in this chapter, but eventually all the other characters will work their way in (main pairings will be Arizona/Callie and Teddy/Tim) :)**

******So here it is. (Or, the beginning, anyway).**

* * *

She worried about them as any mother worries about her kids. She didn't really have anything to worry about; they were great, they were healthy, they had their whole lives in front of them…she just wanted them to have the best, but she couldn't just hand everything she thought they deserved to them, and a mother worries the most when circumstances are out of their hands.

Barbara made her way to the door to look out to see what they were up to. They often distracted each other, but dinner was almost ready and it had been almost 10 minutes since she heard them pull in. She peeked out the door to only see one car in the driveway and neither of her kids in sight. She shook her head and made her way back inside.

xxxx-xxxx

Arizona was driving towards the Robbins' house when she saw her brother's car coming from the opposite direction pulling in seconds before her. They climbed out of their respective cars, doors slamming seconds apart.

"How was your day?" They chuckled as they asked each other at the same time

"Shitty." Again, same answer. Blue eyes narrowed across the car tops. They knew what came next.

"Donuts." Two dimpled grins appeared. They were that close; not just siblings, but best friends and it was weird how similar they thought, most of the time they could speak for each other and the words coming out of their mouths wouldn't be any truer if they spoke them themselves.

They climbed back into Tim's car and drove back out to get coffee and donuts, complaining about their days to each other about their day and their jobs in general.

This had been the longest either had been able to hold down a job. They had the determination, and could be very hard workers with great ideas…but they got bored easily, they always wanted something more. They had often been told to start their own business, but neither of them was jumping at that sort of commitment, and with their job history who's to say they wouldn't just get bored again.

So for the past 8 months Arizona had been working at a daycare and Tim had been working at an animal shelter and somehow they had arranged it so they could trade jobs every so often. The kids at the daycare loved both Arizona and Tim and they were both great with the animals, their bosses figured if letting the pair switch back in forth meant they got to keep them around then it was worth any inconvenience; the Robbins duo seemed to have a way with kids and animals that just wasn't easy to find these days.

xxxx-xxxx

They burst through the door with their box of donuts and trey of coffee, kicking their shoes off and hollering (they knew it drove their mom nuts, especially because she was always close by when they did it)

"MOOOOOOOM! WE'RE HOOOME!"

Barbara walked out from the kitchen to be greeted by her two grown children, grinning like fools and arms loaded with treats. She shook her head and smiled warmly at them "I know, dears. You were 30 minutes ago too. Rough day?"

They nodded sheepishly.

"Both of you?"

They looked at each other and then opened the box as evidence of how many sweets they had purchased and confirmed with a nod. "That would be safe to say."

Barbara sighed and made her way back to the kitchen.

"Well, dinner's ready, so your donuts will have to wait."

"But, Mom – " "…couldn't we have the donuts _for _dinner?" Tim and Arizona protested.

Mother Robbins couldn't help but smirk, some things never change. "No. Now come eat."

xxxx-xxxx

The trio sat at the table eating a delicious meal and talking about their day and plans for the week. Barbara listened to the pair talk about their work, she could tell that they weren't particularly happy with what they were doing, but it was still a vast improvement from how they were with previous jobs they had tried. She lovingly watched the two of them bicker back and forth about who was going to be stuck at which job for the less pleasant shifts and couldn't help but hope that everything would work out eventually.

She looked at Tim and Arizona and thought back to when they were in high school. Barbara and Daniel Robbins had gotten a divorce after Daniel had fallen in love with another woman, at first Barbara was devastated, but they eventually decided a divorce would be for the best. Barbara knew that once that emotional line was crossed it wouldn't be the same – she wouldn't be able to see Daniel the same way anymore even if they tried to stick it out, they were both too proud; it would just end in bitterness.

Colonel Daniel Robbins was all about honour and commitment, it made him especially hard to come clean about having feelings for someone else, but he knew it would be far less admirable to stay in a relationship with someone when the right kind of love wasn't there anymore. He couldn't do that to himself, or Barbara, but he was worried about the impact of his actions on his children. He had taught them their whole lives about the value of honour and commitment and "being a good man in a storm", how were they going to react to knowing that their parent's marriage wasn't a storm that he wasn't going to weather?

As expected, Timothy and Arizona took it the worst. They were upset with their father and the situation; they knew that their parents had their problems, but who doesn't? They always looked up to parents and hoped to be like them when they got older and were ready to start their own families. Then their parents called them to the family room one afternoon during summer break and everything changed. After that their Dad was no longer around…they got to stay in the same town, there would be no more moving because they had chosen to stay with their Mom…everything just…changed.

Over the years that followed they met their Dad's new girlfriend, who eventually became his new wife. They had a hard time with it, but they still made it to the wedding and would sometimes visit him when he was stationed close enough. Their Mom had a boyfriend, a local real estate agent, who was nice enough and practically lived with them now. They were happy that their parents were both happy…but sometimes it still just sucked.

Now, looking at her children, Barbara was almost glad that she and Daniel had split. She remembered how much, Timothy especially, looked up to their father. She worried that if they were still all together as one family that Tim would have followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Marines, and then who knows what would have happened. She could see that it affected Arizona in a more emotional way, she was more guarded than she used to be, and both of them seemed to shy from large commitments and seemed to be lacking a certain sense of direction.

She could understand their hesitation in some respects. It's hard when you come across that shift in your life where your reality alters; your universe feels like it's crumbling but life around you continues without a hitch; you recover to find out that you see everything in a new light and it isn't always for the better. At this point in her life she had expected to be waiting at home to receive word from Daniel and Timothy, who would either be in training or deployed, Arizona would be well on her way to becoming a doctor, like she had always planned…holidays and special occasions would mean everyone coming home, not arranging to share the time between two families and have to divide their children's time like that. Of course there are step-families to fit into the equation as well, Barbara was hesitant at first, when Tim and Arizona didn't really seem to like her boyfriend, Albert's, family, but they still liked his family more than the step siblings on their father's side so she would count it as a small victory.

She could exhaust herself thinking about everything that has happened and led to where they are now. But nothing would change, fate would still have its way with them; life was life, it couldn't be anything else.


	2. Battle at High Noon

**A/N: This fic won't be updated as frequently as my other story, because that's just ridiculous _and I'm amazed that I've kept it up for so long_. But you can thank JCLuv for being the reason this chapter is up! If she had have picked a different number I could have ended up doing some silly like school work or cleaning, gross.**

* * *

Arizona and Tim made their retreat after dinner, helping their Mom take everything back to the kitchen before escaping to the basement with their donuts.

Up until the Colonel had moved out the basement had always been his place, but it hadn't taken long for Tim and Arizona to make it their own. They didn't have many expenses living at home so they had decided to spent a sizable chunk of money making the rec. room their own; what was once boxes and an office type space was now outfitted with a leather couch and two of the biggest, comfiest chairs they could find, along with a flat screen tv and their gaming systems. They liked having a space where they could just be themselves without having to hang out in each other's rooms and somewhere where their mom or step-dad would be hovering around.

So now they were sprawled out in their chairs with the box of donuts on the stand between them. Tim was flopped in his chair with the footrest out, one leg stretched out and the other thrown over the arm of the chair, laptop perched on his lap. Arizona was sideways in her chair, legs tossed over one arm with her head resting against the other, with her laptop resting on her lower stomach.

They'd sit like that, night after night, for probably what would be considered longer than healthy. They'd exchange jokes or fun facts they came across, sometimes telling the other to go look at something for themselves if it was longer or hard to explain.

Between the two of them there was never a shortage of ideas, and that gave way to countless hours spent researching and talking themselves out of said ideas. Other nights were literally just spent wasting time watching stupid videos or reading stories. They always found something to pass the time, and if they weren't wasting time in their little cave, they were outside racing around the neighbourhood on their bikes or roller skates; they were as well known around the neighbourhood for their races as they were at the daycare for wearing their Heelys.

x-x

The next morning arrived and as they were standing in the kitchen chugging down some orange juice when both of their phones rang within seconds of each other. They both glanced at the clock to make sure they weren't late before distancing themselves to take their calls without having to talk over each other.

"Daycare week." They both said.

It had happened a few times before, if either the daycare or animal shelter happened to be short staffed for the day their bosses would arrange for them to both work at the same place for a day. It seemed as though this time they might be working together for a bit longer as one of the daycare workers had quit after being the victim of one too many kicks to the shins.

They grinned and shrugged, and made their way out. It was better than fighting over who went to which job today, and they would get to ride together and save the use of one of their cars.

They knew that when the two of them were together they could almost be as much trouble as the whole group of kids, the other workers would roll their eyes and pretend to be upset with the tables turning against them but they were secretly glad. When the Robbins' worked together the kids were not only over the moon with the "adults" indulging them, but they were also worn out in record time.

The two blondes working together just generally made everyone's day a little better.

x-x

They pulled open the big glass doors of daycare with big smiles on their faces. They kicked their wheels out and glided across the smooth flooring to the reception desk to see what if there was anything they needed to know about today.

Just as they were told that it was just another day they heard a giggle that seemed to be getting closer.

"Big birds!"

They grinned and spun around to see one of their favourite tiny humans. Zola wasn't much for verbal communication yet but ever since she had heard that their last name was Robbins she had taken to calling them Big Birds. It made them think of themselves as giant yellow birds but it didn't really matter when they looked down at the adorable little girl beaming up at them with her little arms tucked in like wings.

"Little bird!"

They both crouched to be at her height and held up their hands for high fives.

Meredith was smiling just as much as her baby girl as she watched Zola put one of her hands to each of the offered hands to high five the Robbins'. She loved it when they were both working, Zola was always so much happier when she got picked up; they just seemed to know how to handle the kids, and she couldn't really say the same about some of the other daycare workers, and certainly not the manager, . Honestly, if it weren't for Arizona and Tim she probably would have looked for a different centre for Zola.

"See you later, Zo-Zo!"

She waved until Zola disappeared back into the daycare with Arizona and Tim and then made her way to the hospital for the day.

x-x

By the time the nap time had ended, one of the kids had revealed that he had snuck in a pair of battle helicopters which quickly turned into an argument between the kids and the caretakers about whether or not the toys would be allowed.

Some of the older kids had realized that it was a battle they were quickly losing and chimed in.

"What about if Tim and Arizona use them and we just watch?"

They knew it wouldn't be the same as battling by themselves, but they knew that watching Tim and Arizona compete for _anything _was a good show.

"We can totally do it!" Arizona piped up

"Yeh, we'll sacrifice ourselves for the cause!" Tim added, both of them trying to suppress their grins

"Fine. But you're responsible if anything goes wrong." The other worker huffed and left.

The kids all gathered around in a wide circle while the helicopters were prepped. Some of the more restless children took markers and paper to create signs to cheer for their favourite, pretty much a perfect 50/50 divide between Team Awesome, Arizona's team, and Team Super, Tim's Team.

Tim and Arizona stood opposite of each other in the circle and squared the shoulders, narrowing eyes and cocking eyebrows, putting on a show for the kids. Looking on to the scene from a distance it would almost look like an old western showdown with tiny humans everywhere instead of tumbleweeds and old wooden buildings.

Tongues peeked out as helicopters bobbed and weaved around each other. Tiny gasps came from the little crowd when there were near collisions between the two 'copters.

'_snickt_' A big communal gasp as the blades of Tim's helicopter brushed against one of the decorations hanging from the ceiling.

'_Whoooooa' _Little eyes widened in rapt fascination as Arizona's chopper miraculously recovered mid fall and shot back up

'_Ooooo' _Utter delight was shown at the neat tricks Tim was doing as Arizona's tiny craft followed

The helicopters dipped and dived, circling around each other in the tiny area. Tim and Arizona were fully invested by this point; they crossed that line a while ago.

The two helicopters kept climbing higher and higher, both Robbins distracted by keeping out of the reach of the other's infrared beams, each of them had already received two hits, the next hit would declare the victor.

Helicopters suddenly dove in opposite directions and dipped slightly just to shoot back up, both blondes attempting the same trick to fool the other.

'_snick-t-tt-crinkle-tsscht'_

Everyone looked up with their mouths hanging open in disbelief – both helicopters were twisted up and hanging from the streamer/string combo that had been used to keep some of the paper mache creations suspended above the play area.

The sound of the first round of parents coming to collect their children garnered a collective groan; there was no choice but to leave it a tie.

A few tiny humans from Team Awesome had dubbed Arizona "Air Zona" and insisted upon being "flown" to their awaiting parents; she went with it and appointed Tim a co-pilot to help clear the kids out; she wasn't just going to let him stand there while she ran back and forth carrying kids.

Parents just looked on in amusement as they watched their kids land bum first on the reception desk after being delivered via "Air Zona", most giggling and launching into their tale of the 'epic helicopter battle' that they were just witness to.

As the last kids left and it was finally time to lock up, they had to admit that it was a pretty good day. They just hoped the rest of the week would be the same.


	3. Kitten Sandwich

The next day passed with little fanfare. They had fun with the kids and tolerated the people they worked with, they couldn't really ask for much more.

Thursday soon came, bringing with it rain and bad moods. The rain poured down in sheets outside, bringing in wet and muddy kids who quickly became disgruntled with being inside all day and parents who were moody after having to deal with their cranky children on top of their usual morning routine struggles.

The collective patience level continued to drop as the day wore on; there would be an odd fight to break up, a few lectures on saying nice things and how to use manners. They thought that would be the worst of it, but they were wrong. After fighting with several of the kids to take their nap the workers decided pizza might be a good (and easy) way to please the kids.

They designated Tim and Arizona to make the trek through the rain to the pizza place a street over and neither minded the excuse to get out. They didn't particularly want to be wet or cold, but both of them enjoyed the peace that rain brought, and they knew that if they cut through the ally and parking lot they would be there in no time.

In true Robbins fashion they raced from the entrance of the daycare, and through the ally and back parking lot of the pizza place, jumping in puddles or trying to shove the other into puddles…it really didn't matter, they were both soaked to the bone by the time they got there.

They ordered their pizzas, sitting at a table and doodling on some napkins until their order was ready. They made better use of their umbrellas for the trip back, knowing that they would be moving a lot slower and that no one would be happy if they came back with boxes of soggy pizza.

"Did you hear that?"

Arizona's face screwed up in confusion as she stopped mid stride to listen.

"Hear what? All the starving children waiting for their delicious pizza?"

Tim smirked and stopped as well.

"Ha ha. Shut up and listen…"

They both stood there with the rain falling down around them, staring at the ground with their ears straining to hear whatever it was again.

"Zona, come – "

"Shhhhh!"

_Meew…mew…mreow_

Two blonde heads snapped in the direction of the dumpster where a box seemed like it was moving. They shared a look before going over to the box and debating on whether or not to lift the lid. They knew it couldn't be anything _that _dangerous…but there was still a chance of some sort of disease, and they knew if it was what they suspected, a kitten, that they would be in trouble; they had a hard enough time not bringing home animals from the pet store or their work at the animal shelter, and there they _knew _that the animals had shelter and food.

Arizona placed her pizza boxes on top of the ones in Tim's arms and they slowly moved a bit closer to the box to block out the rain while Arizona lifted the lid, ready to fall back if it came out claws swinging.

What greeted them threw them for a loop. It wasn't clear whether the mouths dropped open first or their faces screwed up in disgust first. Looking down they saw a tiny little black and white kitten climbing all over a little ginger kitten, clearly trying to start a fight. They barely looked old enough to have been weaned from their mother and from the looks of the box they had been there for at least the better part of the day; it was gross.

Two sets of blue eyes scanned the nearby dumpster and area around them. Spotting a cleaner box, Arizona hopped up to grab it and transferred the kittens and got up, box in her arms and they once again started making their way back to the daycare.

"Mom's going to kill us." Tim flatly stated; it wasn't going to change their minds about bringing them home. Arizona just shrugged.

"So will everyone at work…we can't just leave them in the car for the rest of the afternoon."

They both just shrugged; it wasn't like anyone there could get in a much worse mood anyway.

x-x

The pulled open the doors to the daycare to be greeted by the quizzical expression of one of the other workers, Jo.

"Hey guys…" she narrowed her eyes at the two "I know we sent you for the pizza, but not…" she tilted her head and squinted trying to make out what the box said "…a box of Listerine?"

She received two sheepish smiles; the two knew that she was one of those girls who often fell under the spell of their dimples and they were hoping it would be enough to get them off the hook, or at least provide them with a timeframe to figure out their angle to work the whole kitten thing.

Unfortunately they didn't get enough time as the contents of the mystery box started meowing.

Jo's eyes bugged out as her jaw dropped "You didn't…"

The Robbins' tried to look as innocent as possible but they knew it was a lost cause now. They opted for just showing off the cute little bundles of fur instead. "Aren't they cute?!"

She just sighed "They are…what are their names?"

"Ham and Cheese." They grinned as they both spoke.

Jo shot them a confused look as she let the kittens play with her hand "…but you guys don't even like sandwiches…"

"Good thing we're not making a kitten sandwich then, eh?" Tim playfully shot back while Arizona giggled, earning them a roll of Jo's eyes as she made her way back over to the desk.

"Whatever. You guys are sooo in shit for this."

But they weren't. wasn't in today, like usual. They received a few disapproving headshakes from one of the middle aged workers, and several eye rolls, but the kids loved them even more for bringing kittens in.

The afternoon passed by much faster with the kittens as a distraction for the kids; when the kids were happier, the workers were happier.

A few of the parents had called to say they would be running a little late due to the weather, and Tim and Arizona were voted to be the ones to stay because of their 'kitten stunt'; one particularly crabby worker had even promised that it would become 'KittyGate 2013' if Stark were to find out.

So the two blondes sat on the floor in the front with two kittens and a handful of kids scattered around them. One of the little boys asked why they chose Ham and Cheese as the names, so the kids sat in a small circle while Tim and Arizona told them a few stories about them growing up and how their Nana had always called them Ham and Cheese because they were inseparable, and thus they decided to pass on the names. That seemed to please most curiosities and served to lead them into a storytelling session with the kids talking/complaining about their own siblings and grandparents which kept on while the number of kids in the small group slowly decreased.

Derek Shepherd was expected to be the last to arrive, and he was. When Arizona and Tim had first started working at the daycare they had wondered why Zola was coming here when Derek and Meredith both worked at the hospital, which had its own daycare. They made the mistake of asking an intern who had been charged with dropping Zola off one afternoon and sat and listened to a dreadfully long tale of gossip about a lot of people they didn't know at the hospital and all they managed to gather was that there was some sort of an incident and that this place had more flexible hours.

By 7pm they decided they would try calling either of the Shepherds to see what was going on, but all they found out was that they were both in surgery. Normally if that happened they would send someone to pick Zola up for them, but they hadn't today so they had assumed it was an 'all hands on deck situation' because of the weather and just reheated some of the pizza from earlier so they could all eat dinner, sharing the meaty bits with the kittens to hopefully tide them over until they could get some cat food. (Luckily for the litter box they had just stolen some sand from the sandbox and used an old box from the supply closet.)

When Derek and Meredith finally rushed through the door at 10pm, babbling their reasoning for being late, they looked around wondering why it was so quiet. Looking over the front desk they smiled, seeing Tim and Arizona sleeping while leaning back against the wall, Zola securely between them with two kittens draped over her little legs and an empty pizza box beside them.

Meredith's squeeing and the flash from the hundredth photo she took with her iphone finally woke them, the three groggily looked around, the obviously didn't remember falling asleep there.

"Sorry guys…" Meredith smiled

"Kittens, huh?" Derek just smirked looking down at the three; Mer always did say that Zola always came home with the most interesting stories when both Robbins were working…


End file.
